With Or Without You
by ms.fingerprints
Summary: Stella isn't sure what she is really feeling for Mac. One thing she knows for sure: she is ready to find it out... Comments and reviews are always welcome! Remember: I don't own the TV show CSI: NY and its characters.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 01

New York is a city which never sleeps. The most important reason is that people are getting not too much sleep either. But there's one thing which can't hardly be asleep; crime. Crime means work for the NYPD. If they have a homicide, they know who they can call. **'We have a 419, please call CSI…'**

Stella Bonasera was taking a shower when she heard the incoming message on the police radio. She listened to the police radio everyday and most of the times she was the first one on the crime scene. She stepped out of the shower and she looked in the mirror. Many people asked her how she could do this job. Most of the days death came really close to her. She learned to live with it and now she loved her job. She had nothing else; no family, no pets and no boyfriend. Well, maybe she had someone, a great friend; Mac. She helped him after his wife died at 9/11. She liked almost everything about him, but the only bad thing about Mac was that he couldn't forget something. Stella thought that wasn't a bad thing for his job. He was a real workaholic, sometimes too much. So there you have the bad thing. Stella wouldn't mind if she had a relationship with Mac. But could you have a relationship with a job like this? That was a question with an unknown answer for Stella. Well, maybe for now…

Stella was early in the lab today. She enjoyed the silence in the lab on an early morning. The only thing you could hear was the ticking of mass spectrometer. After she went to her locker she walked by the offices. In one of the offices she saw movement. Was that Mac?

Mac Taylor was already in his office. He didn't go home last night, because of a really important case. Important for him, that was for sure. This was one of the nights in which he wanted to solve a case so badly that he worked so long that he felt asleep on his desk. Mac was just awake and he thought that he heard footsteps somewhere. He had something with footsteps, he knew exactly which footstep matched which person. And he knew this strong, but also light footstep. This was Stella, his best friend. Stella was there for him when his wife died. Without her he had never entered the lab again. But there was also Peyton, the woman he was currently seeing. It's so hard, he didn't know how to tell Stella this. He slowly sat straight and tried to make an awake impression. Stella knew him too well to know that he worked the whole night. Stella entered Mac's office.

'Good morning sleepy head. I can see you worked the whole night while you had to lie in bed. Do you know the word sleep, Mac?'  
'Good morning to you too, Stella. I do know the word sleep but I think my body doesn't sleep I think. One thing was good in my night. I solved the murder from our Jane Doe and she's not Jane Doe anymore.'  
'Mac, that are two things. I want you to go home and get some sleep.'  
'I'm fine, Stella. I'll promise to you that I'll go home early and that I get some sleep tonight.'  
'Of course you will, or otherwise I'll kick your butt home.'

Mac laughed and was trying to fix his tie. But his tie wasn't really working with him. Stella stepped to Mac and sat on his desk to fix his tie.  
'You're in a good mood today, Stella.'  
'Yeah, I slept really good last night. The neighbours are pretty silent these days…'  
'Well, talking about sleep is teasing me. I will go home early after this shift, you know I break no promises.'  
'That's right, I believe you.'  
'Are you seeing someone at the moment, Stella?'

Stella stopped with fixing his tie and looked him straight in his face. Mac looked back and he didn't know what to think about Stella's look.

'No, why are you asking that?'  
'Well, we didn't go out for a couple of months. And tonight there's a really good band in a club not far from my house. Do you want to go with me?'  
'I thought you promised me to get some sleep tonight?'  
'Yeah, but this is some relaxing too. And you worked also very hard the last weeks. You deserve some relaxing too.'  
'Well, okay. But if you fall asleep in the club…'  
'No, I won't!'  
'Than that's a deal, let's go to work now'

Stella and Mac walked out of Mac's office to the locker room. They got their kits and walked to the car.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 02

Mac and Stella were called to Central Park for a 419. Todays weather was not great in New York. It was rainy and people had to wear warm coats. Stella hated this weather, she was more a person who enjoyed warm summer days. She was rubbing her hands hard to get some feeling in her hands. Mac looked at Stella and walked over to her.  
'You are cold, Stella. Want some coffee first? It would be good for you.'  
'I'm fine, let's wait till Sid is here and than we can go back to our warm lab after we processed this scene.'

Mac got closer to Stella and laid Stella's hands in his hands.  
_How can his hands be warm, there's one good thing about cold hands right now. But you have to focus, you can't be flirting on a crime scene… _Stella thought.  
'Do you feel better now? Your hands are getting warmer.'  
'I'm sorry what did you say, Mac?'

Stella was looking in Mac's beautiful blue eyes and she seemed to forget everything around her for a moment.  
'I said that your hands are getting warmer. Oh, look there's Sid.'  
Mac walked to Sid and Stella just stood there. When Mac walked away she felt the cold feeling coming back. Mac gave her a warm feeling, but there was more than that. Stella couldn't describe it. She knew one thing for sure now; she was in love and she needed to let him know it.

'Where is my Greek Goddess? Oh, look there she is. Hello Stella!'  
Sid was sitting on his knees next to the dead body. Sid was a person who can always make you happy with his jokes and weird stories. And although he was married and that he had two daughters, he still flirted a little bit with Stella. Mac always laughed about that and Stella was still wandering why he did that.  
'Sid, flirting with a corpse next to you is not really romantic.'  
'I'm sorry Mac. Let's go back to business.'

When Sid said that he gave Stella a wink. Stella felt already the blushes appearing on her cheeks. Behind her she heard a little laugh. Stella turned around and saw Mac laughing there like a little school girl. Stella gave him a look and he immediately stopped laughing. She wanted to go back to a central heating so she decided that she started the investigation of the dead body with Sid.

'Sid, can you tell me your first findings?'  
'Of course. Male, around 40 years, business man if you look to his suit. I found a wallet, you may have a look at it.'  
'Thank you, Sid. We see you back in the morgue.'  
Stella stepped back with the wallet in her hands and handed it to Mac. When Stella handed the wallet to Mac, he touched her hand again. Maybe too long for her feeling.  
'You still have cold hands'  
'I know, it's not important now. Let's look if we can find an ID of our business man'  
Mac took a look in the wallet and found the victims drivers license. He handed it back to Stella because he saw something on the ground. Mac got his flashlight and walked over to the place where he saw something.

'Marc Anderson, lawyer. How many dead lawyers do we have already Mac? Why do people hate lawyers, they have to work too…'  
'I really don't know. Most of them are normal people, the clients are the ones who aren't very normal'  
Stella got the wallet into an evidence bag and walked over to Mac.  
'What have you got there?'  
'It's an earring, from a woman'  
'Those are not the cheapest ones, I saw them at Tiffany's'  
'Since when do you shop at Tiffany's?'  
'Well, not exactly shop but a woman can fantasize?'

Stella laughed and took a picture of the earring. Mac got it in an evidence bag and they continued their crime scene. After one hour of searching, photographing and collecting, they were done with the scene.  
'I think we're done here. Mister Lawyer can take his ride to the morgue'  
'Let's go back to the lab, I need a cup of coffee'  
'I thought you would never say it, Stella'  
They both laughed and walked back to their car, with their hands full with their kits and evidence.

Back in the lab Stella was enjoying a large cup of coffee. She got a phone call.  
'Bonasera…'  
'Hey Stella, it's Danny. I have some more information about your dead lawyer. You may have a look at it'  
'Thank you Danny. Where can I find you?'  
'I'm in the AV-lab, I see you in a couple of minutes'  
Stella drank her last coffee and got on her way to the AV-lab. When she was around DNA she saw Peyton. Stella asked herself why that woman didn't talk with her. Well, they did talk but that was about their cases and not a little chat about their life or something. Stella heard that Mac was seeing her. Of course Mac deserved that, but if their relationship was serious? Stella should ask him about it tonight. Stella greeted her and walked along to the AV-lab.

Mac was in the morgue for the victims clothes. He heard a door open and shut and saw Peyton standing there.  
'Hey you…'  
Peyton walked towards him and sat next to him. She let her breath go and looked at him.

'Hey there…'  
Mac only had eyes for his evidence and didn't look at her. He wanted to solve this case and he didn't had the time to talk with Peyton.  
'Mac, can I talk to you for a couple of seconds?'  
'Sure, go ahead'  
'I don't know how to tell you this but I have a job offer back in London'  
'Well, that's great for you, isn't it? Are you taking it?'  
'I already took it and I'm leaving tomorrow'  
'How come that you tell me this now?'  
'I knew for sure half an hour ago and you just had to hear it from me'  
'So this is it? I'll never see you again and you tell me this one day before you leave? Well, I don't bother anymore, can you just leave now?'  
'I'm sorry, Mac. I'll never forget you'  
And with those words Peyton left the morgue. Mac was just sitting there, with the victims clothes and that was the only thing he had now.

Stella found Danny behind a computer. Danny was staring so intense at the screen that he didn't saw Stella. Stella walked to him and tapped him on the shoulder. He almost jumped out of his chair.  
'Gosh, you scared me Stella!'  
'Sorry, Danny. I just had to disturb you'  
Stella giggled and looked at the screen to see what Danny got.  
'Marc Anderson was really popular with celebrities. He has won some cases with weird celebrities and he had his own office. He was an expensive lawyer, now I know how he paid his Versace suit'  
'Thank you Danny, if you could print a sheet with the information than I would be very happy'  
'No problem, your sheet will be there in a couple of seconds'  
'Danny, do you know where I can find Mac?'  
'So far as I know he was in the morgue to examine the victim's clothes'  
'Thanks for your help. I'll catch you later'

Stella was on her way to the morgue when she saw Peyton again. She walked very quickly to the elevator. She had this mixed up feelings look on her face.  
_What's wrong with her?_ thought Stella and she got a lab coat to enter the morgue. When she walked inside she saw Mac sitting in a dark corner of the morgue. Things were getting clear for Stella. Hopefully it was not true, she felt sorry for Mac. When she wanted to say something, she heard Mac saying;  
'She's leaving Stella and she just told me the day before'  
'I'm sorry Mac. Do you want to take a break before we process that evidence?'  
'I'm fine Stella, let's look at the evidence or otherwise we can't go to the club to see that band tonight'  
'Do you still want to go after al this?'  
'Of course and the only two things I need now are some good music and some quality time with a good friend who's always there for me'  
Stella placed her hand on one of Mac's shoulders and said;  
'I have some new information about the victim but maybe the clothes will give us more'

After the processing they found a stain in the collar of the victim's shirt. Stella swabbed the stain and said;  
'It looks like lipstick to me. Pure red, not my favorite color'  
'Well, that's because they don't match your beautiful green eyes'  
A moment of silence, Mac and Stella kept looking at each other. No words, just the looks.

'Mac, Stella, I got more about the lawyer'

_This moment got disturbed, thanks Sid__… _thought Stella.


End file.
